Northampton County Councilman Lamont McClure vowed to block all non-essential legislation Thursday until County Executive John Brown agrees to negotiate planned changes to employee health benefits.

Several other council members signed onto his legislative logjam, blocking measures to reduce council pay and allow St. Luke's University Health Network to finance $30 million in electronic medical records improvements through the county's General Purpose Authority.

"I think until negotiations begin at least on the co-insurance we ought to table everything that is not essential to the safe conduct of the county," McClure said.

He opposes Brown's plan to significantly raise employee health care contributions. A single person now pays $250 a month, which would increase to $500. A family's cost also would double, from $500 to $1,000. Employees would pick up a 10 percent co-insurance, with a $6,500 out-of-pocket-maximum for individuals and more than $13,000 for families, and see higher co-pays and prescription costs.

Council has already weighed in with a resolution condemning the benefits changes, which it has no power to alter, and proposing Brown reduce the co-insurance cap to $500.

Employees are willing to pay more, but the potential health care bills would crush them, McClure said after the meeting.

Standing by his insurance initiative, Brown said, "As far as I can tell [McClure] is running for office and he's pandering to the employee base."

Caught in the crossfire was a Republican-backed proposal to reduce council's pay to $8,000 per year. The council president receives an additional $500.

"The families of Northampton County … cannot continue to sustain public sector wages and benefits that cause the elderly, the hard-working middle class and others to support a system that drives up taxes," the legislation says. "County Council must first look to itself to ensure it is a prudent steward of the public funds."

Council President Peg Ferraro, a Republican who said she opposes the pay cut, voted with the board's four Democrats to table it. Republican Glenn Geissinger joined Democrats Bob Werner, Ken Kraft, Scott Parsons and McClure in stalling a minor job reclassification in the Human Services Department.

Council actually fell short of the votes needed to table the St. Luke's financing package, instead rejecting it 6-2. McClure said he didn't reject the legislation on its merits but because the previous tabling move failed, and he would support it in the future.

Ferraro said after the meeting she was "appalled" by council's decision.

Though fewer in number, employees took their turns bashing Brown and his benefits policy and pleaded with him to roll it back. Two women described how the hike would decimate their $17,000 and $26,000 salaries, respectively.